Brewed by hand in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht, Kombucha Na Dálaigh is a labour of love for founder Marianne O’Donnell.
She talks to ThinkBusiness about scaling her business, one province at a time and her quest to put Donegal on the Slow Food map.
Why did you set up Kombucha Na Dalaigh?
I was having some gut health issues and a friend told me to drink kombucha because it helps the gut. She gave me my first SCOBY, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast and I made my first batch of kombucha. I started giving it away, then selling it and quickly thought about starting a little business.
“The local food sector here in the Gaeltacht has been created by farmers and small businesses that have gone against the trend for consolidation. With the help of Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Local Enterprise Office, we were able to add value locally and keep a larger slice of the retail price”
I qualified as a nutrition coach during lockdown and that spurred me on as well because I learned about the importance of good nutrition. I completed a course on starting a food business and that gave me the skills I needed to set up my own business properly, and it grew from there.
What makes Kombucha Na Dalaigh stand out?
We have a zero waste principle and use organic products with little environmental impact. We are 95% plastic free and encourage bottle return. Our label is made from sustainably sourced recycled paper. All our fruit peelings go back into our garden and we reuse our cardboard boxes. We source most of our flavours locally. We also offer education workshops in the community.
The local food sector here in the Gaeltacht has been created by farmers and small businesses that have gone against the trend for consolidation. With the help of Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Local Enterprise Office, we were able to add value locally and keep a larger slice of the retail price. This is achieved by building on public enthusiasm for our locally produced kombucha that has a clear regional provenance. We’re very big on promoting Donegal, which we hope will contribute to the overall tourism in the northwest region. We use Gaelic in most of our advertising and all of our labels have Gaelic on them.
What challenges did you meet and how did you overcome them?
Marianne O’Donnell
When I started to scale up my production, it was difficult to know where to source materials at the right price. When I started I was paying nearly €6 per bottle. I got great advise from another kombucha company that helped a lot. They gave me guidance on where to source the best sugar and where to get bottles and how to improve my process.
“It would be great to have a one stop shop for food businesses, that would include education on all the aspects of setting up your own food business, from financial mentoring to finding out about routes to market and distribution, food analysis, help with marketing and business advice”
I got great help from Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Local Enterprise Office and mentoring from local business consultants because I had to upskill quickly. I did courses that helped with learning about fermentation and food safety, account keeping and market research. All this helped me overcome any challenges that were thrown at me.
What is the support for entrepreneurs in Ireland like and how could it be improved?
Údarás na Gaeltachta have been a great support. I did a feasibility study with them to see if my product was viable at the very start. I did a course on setting up your own food business with the Local Enterprise Office in Letterkenny, which taught me everything that I needed to set up a food business, from the legal side of things, to food safety.
“I got great help from Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Local Enterprise Office and mentoring from local business consultants because I had to upskill quickly”
I have been in touch with LEADER Rural Development Programme, they can provide funding of up to 70% to build a new production kitchen. I am also hoping to get some support from Bord Bia soon.
With the likes of Údarás na Gaeltachta and the LEO, the applications need to become more user friendly. The paperwork is very time consuming and you’re not guaranteed a grant at the end of it. The system also needs to be updated. It is not user friendly and even the most computer literate have difficulty accessing what they need to fill in the applications.
It would be great to have a one stop shop for food businesses, that would include education on all the aspects of setting up your own food business, from financial mentoring to finding out about routes to market and distribution, food analysis, help with marketing and business advice. It would definitely benefit entrepreneurs to have everything under one umbrella.
What lessons have your learnt and what would you pass on to other businesses?
Take it one step at a time. Do your market research. Talk to everyone, learn from everyone. Get in contact with people in similar industry and ask for advice. With every person you speak to, you learn something new. ‘
What is your proudest moment?
I was working towards pitching my product to the local coffee shop in Falcarragh, Batch. When I was eventually ready, when I had my labels, my bottles, my flavours, and I had enough kombucha made I approached Batch and I gave them my pitch.
“We’re very big on promoting Donegal, which we hope will contribute to the overall tourism in the northwest region. We use Gaelic in most of our advertising and all of our labels have Gaelic on them”
When they showed real excitement and passion for what I was doing and wanted to stock my kombucha, that really motivated me to continue. After that the business kept growing and growing.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently making a microbrewery and a production kitchen. This will help me expand my production. I also hope to like teach fermentation classes there as well. I want to get more involved in the Slow Food movement and make Donegal a Slow Food destination, emphasising the importance of where food comes from, who makes it and how it is made.
